Yea... I really don't remember anyone laughing at Bruce Lee in that scene. It was more of a oh man! Could you imagine if someone that good was matched by someone who's supposed to be an aging washed up ignored nobody. It came on the heels of scenes where people were spewing crap about cliffs backstory, how supposedly he's ex military, supposedly he killed his wife etc. Because nobody really knows anything about him. It has nothing to do with Bruce Lee being Asian, just his well known martial prowess. The reason the scene works well is because everyone knows how incredible Lee was.
You said you haven't seen the film correct? I really don't understand how you can possibly have this strong of an opinion on it in that case.
I don't really need to be there to see the audience reaction. There were many in the previous thread and in this thread who have confirmed that audiences have laughed at Bruce.
I understand the intent of the scene, but I hope you also understand where I'm coming from. In so many movies, white people, in particular males, have always been shown to be better than minorities. Here we have one of the few positive media personalities we have being used to legitimize a white guy and that doesn't sit well with many of us.
With that said, I don't think the fact I haven't seen the movie should be used to dismiss my opinion of the movie. I cam always turn around and say, have you experienced the type of racism and stereotyping that some of us have experienced? Obviously many haven't and yet they feel they have the authority to tell us that what we see and experience is not racism.
What stereotype is being pushed here? The stereotype that Asians are bad at martial arts?
Not that they are bad at martial arts, but rather, that Asians can be laughed at due to their mannerisms and that they are the other, aka foreigners.
I know Bruce Lee was not perfect and he had flaws. I just don't want to see him used as a tool to prop up white masculinity and superiority.
Somehow I don't think people who have seen the film are going to be banned, given you haven't even seen the film and are pushing a narrative you have absolutely no context for whatsoever.
I do think people who are denying the racial undertones of the movie should be banned. If this was a thread about the European cosplayer and people continually came in denying that is racism, they would have been banned.
And if you want to talk about context, do you have any experience of the Asian American way of life? We are not a monolith and there will be those who don't share our view, but the fact many posters on this board have shared their experience only to be ignored.
So that question about having context, I really wonder if you're just not self aware, fail to see the irony of the question, or just don't emphasize with the experiences of minorities.
When you're so caught up in your internet outrage that you actually side with authoritarian regimes.
When you're so caught up with righteous indignation you make drive by troll posts.
You should rescind the good going china thing at least. Because, you know, concentration camps.
I'm not going to change it because I'm in no way supporting concentration camps. If people are going to read it that way rather than take the time to go through the thread, then I already know the preconceived notions on Asians they have. If they want to use the "You don't have the context of the movie and thus your opinion should be invalid" card, then I'll say the same about their opinions on this subject is they're not going to take a look at the context of this thread.
I don't think he is portrayed as weak at all. His first kick was fucking badass and send Pitt flying who is buff af in this. Then he counters the second which doesn't hurt Lee much and then they are forced to draw immediately by the crew.
That's really not an issue I feel. The most problematic aspect is hamming up Lee's trademark antics for laughs. But right after Pitt who is laughing along the audience receives a massive drop kick and flies backwards shutting him up.
The rest of the film portrays him fondly in flashbacks.
So I think it mostly works and is in line with QT's trademark style of humour. I do agree playing up his antics to make people laugh at him might be racially insensitive and historically inaccurate, but at least intent wise it didn't seem to come from the racial angle for me given how the scene develops. More that even an icon like him can have a moment of arrogance when you are in fact pretty much invincible. Which the film doesn't really dispute with its outcome.
In context of the film's themes I would say the intent was to say "this dude is an amazing fighter, but for Hollywood he put on a fassade and didn't take some of his opponents seriously". The film is all about romanticising and dismantling this particular phase of Hollywood with its fairytale setup.
The first scene has a grown white man crying into the arms of another dude at his failing career. So outside Cliff being a badass I also didn't get much white power trips from it
The problem is that this really isn't the first time Asians have had to face such media characterizations. Hollywood has a history of this and I'm done giving the benefit of the doubt to white male directors, especially when an article came out stating Tarantino was originally going to have Pitt's character beat Bruce Lee.
There are quite a few examples such as Jet Li not being able to kiss Aaliyah in Romeo Must Die because that's not what Asian males do on screen and Ken Jeong in the Hangover coming out of the trunk naked for comedic purposes. There is also the general lack of positive Asian male representation in Hollywood.
Yes, we've heard all the artistic reasons why a scene went the way it did, but those scenes are no less harmful to them.
Depicting Bruce Lee as boastful is racist to Asian people? What?
Read my responses please. Thanks.